The Last Mini Session of the Year.....

is going to be announced soon---

Please subscribe to my blog www.b4photography.blogspot.com to be one of the first to hear about it.

To subscribe, just scroll to the bottom of the posts and you will see "Subscribe to:Atoms, Posts" --it is kinda small--it is between the posts and the about me part.

Thanks!!
Brandi

A Little Humor at 8 in the AM...

I really needed a laugh this morning...

Something a Little Different...

I have never done an entire websites photos before, but I was up to the challenge. I was a little worried--it was to be ALL boys (one girl). I am so accustomed to photographing girls that I was a bit intimidated. They did WONDERFUL!!! We shot the entire thing in about 2 hours! The boutique is Henry St. James--here is a link to her website...

www.henrystjames.com

A Cause Worth Giving To...

With the Month of October being recognized as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, The Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation holds its Annual Fund Drive for six weeks starting in mid-September and ending in October.

President Ronald Reagan enacted Proclamation 5890 in October of 1988 to recognize that each year, approximately a million pregnancies in the United States alone end in miscarriage, stillbirth, or the death of a newborn child. Reagan stated, "A national observance offers us the opportunity to increase our understanding of the great tragedy involved in the deaths of unborn or newborn babies. It also enables us to consider how, as individuals and communities, we can meet the needs of bereaved parents and family members... "

If you are in a place to make even a small contribution to NILMDTS, please know that doing so will continue to allow the organization to provide improved resources, training, communication, and other tools necessary in support of our amazing contingent of professional photographers who provide the gift of free remembrance portraiture to families in need.

Our next project we are working on is an online, interactive webinar version of our Formal NILMDTS Training taught by Co-Founder Sandy Puc' allowing anyone in any country with access to a computer to complete the course online. Donations help make programs like this a reality!

Your Donations Support the Organization in Many Ways -

* By supporting the continued education of our volunteer photographers
* By allowing us to further our outreach to hospitals and hospices across the world
* By offsetting the costs associated with outreach efforts including Formal NILMDTS Traingin Seminars
* By supporting the Family Forum which creates a productive and supportive haven for healing
* By supporting the Photographers' Forum which provides a helpful environment for our member photographers to express their feelings and receive advice on the various issues that they face in this noble work
* By supporting the day to day operations of our Headquarters Offices

www.nilmdts.org

And the Winner is.....

Thanks to everyone for the HUGE response to the contest!! The winner is pretty apparent...

Congrats to (#1)Brandi and Kaylin....Her expression is priceless--if you could meet this little girl, you would know that she is fabulously dramatic and cute as a button.
They will be receiving an 11x14 gallery wrapped canvas soon!!

Thanks again to all who voted. Stay tuned to this blog...big announcements and special deals coming your way very soon!

Can YOU Inspire Me??

When Riley showed up at his sister's session sporting a cool new mohawk, I instantly knew that we needed to do a quickie, freebie, punker/skater photo shoot. So, his Mom and I went to downtown Funkytown for a photo session showcasing his 'do (which was cut off the next week for school).

I constantly have ideas for fresh, new pictures that I have never seen anywhere else. My biggest hurdle? Convincing people to just go with it and trust me. Here's a perfect example:
Remember that photo of the little bald baby in some watermelons? The one that sparked a watermelon mini session frenzy? I did that for free---I approached 3 people with that idea and they wanted nothing to do with it. Not surprising to me, one of those people ended up paying me for a watermelon mini session.

Currently, I am looking for some beautiful people to help me bring to life some of the ideas swirling around in my head. I need a couple for engagement type photos that are cool with anything that I throw at them and that are young, hip, gorgeous, and easy to direct--(girls--no guys that hate having their photo taken!). I need a pregnant mama that will be cool with some pretty crazy stuff on the side of the road (I need this one soon). I am ALWAYS looking for newborns, as this is where most of my ideas would apply. I mean REALLY newborn, though, ABSOLUTELY no older than 10 days.

For helping me to satisfy some of my creative desires, I will happily give you a free session and the CD of my faves. The qualifications for this are simple-- You must be OK with me choosing the day, the time, the location, possibly the clothes, and you MUST TRUST ME!! oh...AND you MUST BE PATIENT with getting your FREE photos. I have paying clients to take care of. I'm thinking that the wait time would be approximately 4-6 wks-but, ya never know, it may be less than that.

If you would like to be considered as one of my models, and would like to get some free photos, then please send me an email to brandifornof@hotmail.com and tell me why I should pick you--please attach either a recent photo or a link to your Myspace page. DO NOT call me about this and please do not contact my assistant either by phone or email--she is busy enough with holiday appointments!

Here is Mr. Riley---my all-time favorite boy model!!

Holy Cow....

We are only a little over 12 hours into this contest and we already have 215 votes??!!?? That is crazy! And there are 6 days to go.....

Let the Voting Begin.....

OK--here is how this will work....pick out your favorite photo...the corresponding number is just above it....scroll down to the very bottom of the page and you will see a poll where you can vote based on the number of your favorite photo.

The winner will be quite obvious, since you can keep a running total of who is in the lead just by looking at the poll. Voting starts tonight at 10pm...Voting ends next Monday night at 10pm. The winner will win the free 11x14 gallery wrapped canvas!!

Good luck and happy voting!!


#1 Brandi





#2 Kim





#3 Ginny





#4 Ann Marie





#5 Amy





#6 Lauren





#7 Lily





#8 Lisa





#9 Maribel





#10 Valerie




PS---I CAN TELL IF YOU GUYS ARE JUST SITTING THERE VOTING FOR YOURSELF OVER AND OVER AGAIN.....PLEASE VOTE ONCE. IF YOU WANT MORE VOTES, THEN PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY ABOUT THE CONTEST....THANK YOU!

Save those Prayers....

Avery's surgery was cancelled today. She has a current ear infection. Just when I get myself psyched up for tomorrow....I will still be MIA, as I now have a sick baby to care for.


Thanks to all who have sent prayers and concerns our way---they are greatly appreciated!!

Again?? Seriously?!!?

My sweetest and youngest of 3 daughters is in a habit of constantly causing me concern and worry. I worry about everything--Am I working too much?? Will she remember that I didn't spend much time with her today? Will she ever start eating her veggies? Will she ever sleep through the night???

And then there are the more serious concerns that have plagued me lately....
Will she ever start speaking as well as her older sisters were at this age? As well as all of my client's children who are her same age? Will she ever stop having constant ear infections? Is her hearing permanently damaged in her left ear (she failed her hearing test)?? Will we ever have a happy, healthy child in Avery?

I have bypassed my pediatrician and have scheduled my daughter for surgery on Wednesday. I know that ear tubes are not a big deal, but, this is my baby. She is so young and helpless. I just worry about her so much. I have fought pretty long and hard to get to Wed. appointment. I, personally, feel that 8 ear infections with 2 ruptured ear drums is plenty to constitute ear tubes...her doctor thinks 10 ear infections is more adequate. You see why I bypassed him! I just want my happy girl back. I want to hear her sweet voice talking---not in the mumbled words that she does now, but in REAL words--ones that other people can sorta understand.

The reason for the blog title? She is, once again, inconsolably crying, digging in her ear, refusing to sleep, and needing to be held nonstop. All the tell tell signs of an ear infection. Uuuggghhh....I just want to make it all go away....I wish I could kiss these boo-boos and make them all better....

I will be MIA until Saturday. Nursing my baby girl back to health and cuddling her to death. Please say a prayer for Avery on Wednesday -- we hope she has a super fast recovery!

Some of my Favorite Clients....

Another family that was affected by the cd burner burnout issue that I had this past week...This family started a serious trend early this year by being the first in a LOOOOONG line of families with multiples that I have photographed recently. In our first session, big sis was pretty much left out since we focused on the twins, but, this time, she gave me some gorgeous shots! They all did so well---well worth the
3X we had to reschedule!! I guess what they say is true--"the third time's the charm"!
Enjoy the long overdue preview Amy! The CD (with pictures) is on the way!

A Reminder...

Everyone who is on the books for the September mini session MUST be paid in FULL by this SAT., the 6th.

There is a wait list and those who do not pay will lose their spots to people on the wait list. With that being said, if you want/need to cancel your appt., PLEASE be courteous and give either myself a call (469-955-4922) or my assistant, Jennifer, a call (817-694-8664) or send us an email at b4photography@hotmail.com. If you know you cannot keep the appt, it is just the nice thing to do!

Thanks!!
Brandi

Please Read...

First of all, all of the mini sessions are on the way. I mail first class (not priority) so it may take more than one day to reach you. If you have not received your CD by Saturday, please let me know. I need to know which picture (for those of you choosing your own) you want in the drawing by next Friday.

Secondly, apparently, my CD burner went out on the computer that I have been working on. I do check all of the CDs before I package them up, to make sure that they all burned on there properly, but I guess that although I am seeing the pics on the computer that I burned them on, some people are finding that they cannot see them on their computers at home. Therefore, some people are getting blank CDs. I assure you that this is an accident and can be easily fixed by just letting me know who was affected by this. I am unsure when exactly it went out, but I know that it was sometime in the last week. I do not think that anyone from the minisession was affected, but I may be wrong. Please just let me know and I will get another CD (WITH PHOTOS) back out to you.

Now for a preview--Jessica, unfortunately, WAS affected by the burner burnout and is dying to see her photos from her recent engagement session....















And these next 2 shots *almost* got us all killed! Damn crazy Dallas drivers!!